Gareth Pugh

Moving away from his signature ultra-constructed shapes, Gareth Pugh brought a more relaxed mood to his collection. The looser silhouettes were a welcome and necessary change (if he is to avoid being considered a one-trick pony), and the resulting garments were much more wearable while still retaining a Goth edge. Perhaps these past two years under the wing of Rick Owens’ wife and business partner, Michele Lamy, have helped him negotiate a balance between the avant garde and the commercial. A slate grey trench worn over ruched grey leggings had a chiffon under-layer that trailed behind, and a draped asymmetric vest had a border of black pin-tucked silk. Intricate handwork remained, exhibited in items like a top constructed from strips of silver silk and dresses made from slashed panels of chiffon. Structure snuck in quietly, as in a flat quilted cap-sleeved minidress with black side panels, which created an exaggerated hourglass shape. Fingerless leather opera gloves and open-toe lace-up boots in ankle and tall styles were covetable accessories for the fashionable neo-Goth, and Pugh let his theatricality show through with headpieces made from sprays of long feathers or lizard-like spikes.